The internet today offers a lot of job opportunities for people from almost every walk of life. Whether you’re a student looking for extra income, a stay-at-home mom looking for a home-based job or a full-time employee searching for a second job, the World Wide Web is the right destination for you.
Want to become a freelance blogger? Follow these tips and land your first job.

Want to be a freelance blogger? Follow these tips and land your first writing job.

A freelance blogger is particularly in demand nowadays. Many webmasters and business owners often do not have the time or skills to write blog posts on a regular basis. Instead of hiring full-time bloggers, these employers prefer to outsource the work and look for a freelance blogger. If you wish to make the most of these opportunities, here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Create a powerful resume.

The first thing you need to do to get started on becoming a freelance blogger is to create your resume. A longer resume is not necessarily more impressive. Instead,

An employer looking for a blogger won’t care if you’re a hotdog eating contest champion or if you were the chess club president in high school–unless the employer runs a blog about hotdogs and chess. Stick to details that are relevant to your writing skills instead.

2. Build a portfolio.

A portfolio is a sure-fire requirement that you will need if you want to have a career as a freelance blogger. Employers would want to see your writing style and capabilities first so make sure you have your writing samples ready. If you have works that have been published online then it will be easy for you to refer potential clients to these web pages through links. You can also refer them to your blog if you have one. No portfolio to show yet? No problem. Simply write a couple of articles about general topics to show off your writing style.

3. Join an online marketplace for employers and freelancers.

For most starting freelance bloggers, the best place to find your first clients would be an online marketplace. Marketplaces such as oDesk connect employers and freelance contractors in one place, making it easier for both parties to find the people they are looking for. All you need to do is to create an account and an online profile to get started. After this, you can start applying to various writing jobs.

4. Secure your payment method.

Since freelance blogging is mostly an outsourcing job, chances are you will have clients from various parts of the world. This means you need a secure payment method through which employers can send your compensation for writing assignments. Consider opening a Paypal account. It’s easy, convenient and is a highly secure and trusted online payment method. Never start scouting for jobs unless you’ve secured a payment method first. Once you’ve scored a job, be sure to inform your client about your payment method.

5. Keep applying.

Landing your first job as a freelance blogger can be challenging but if you work hard enough, it’s almost a sure thing that you will get clients sooner or later. Keep browsing job posts and keep applying to gigs that you are qualified for. Chances are you will get a couple of responses for every ten applications but this is how it is for every beginning freelance blogger. Once you land that first job and you start gaining experience, your portfolio will grow as well and landing jobs will become easier and easier.

Providing great customer service when you have just one location of your retail store is manageable. You can answer all emails yourself, talk to customers, oversee employee behavior, and generally make sure that everything is running smoothly to make sure customers get the help they need in a timely manner.

Things get more complicated, though, when you decide to branch out. It’s obvious that there are financial considerations to take into account when thinking about opening a second location or increasing the size of your store, but have you considered that you’ll need to create a new customer service plan for your expansion as well?

Building customer service to scale is no easy task, but there are definitely ways to make it easier. Check out these tips for building customer service to scale:

1. Offer FAQs. You’ve probably noticed that you get some of the same questions over and over from your customers, and if you don’t offer an FAQs page on your website, you’re wasting valuable time answering the same questions repeatedly. Although many companies are hesitant to provide canned answers, just remember: Letting customers help themselves when they can is not the same thing as leaving customers to make due totally on their own. Offering an FAQs page is a win-win: Customers find what they’re looking for quickly, and you reduce your workload. Some companies also set up an auto-response to emails that lists FAQs so that customers with easy-to-resolve issues can get help right away, and then offer a second email address or toll-free number in case they still need help.

2. Develop specific company policies. If you’re growing past the point where you’re able to handle all customer service issues on your own, it can be scary to allow others to take the reins with customers. However, if you develop very specific policies for dealing with specific situations that arise, everyone in a customer service position will know what he or she is supposed to do. For instance, employees might be granted the power to refund purchases of up to $50 on their own in order to resolve customer complaints; for higher amounts, they’ll know they need to come to you.

3. Do thorough customer service training. Don’t assume your employees know what you mean by “customer service.” Make sure you train new hires not just on how to use the cash register or the difference between two similar products, but also on exactly how they’re expected to treat customers, both when customers are happy and when they’re mad. Go through practice scenarios to make sure they really understand what’s expected of them.

4. Cross-train your employees.Customer service is everyone’s job, and as you grow your company, it becomes more and more important to make sure everyone knows how to handle customer questions and complaints. Your customer service representatives won’t always be around to help as your store grows, so if others can help out in a pinch, you’ll rest assured knowing that someone knowledgeable will be there to keep customers happy.

5. Maintain the same standards as before the expansion. Just because you’re trying to do more with less doesn’t mean that your customer service has to suffer, so go into your expansion assuming that you’ll be able to maintain the same high standards you’ve always had. It’s easy to get into the mindset that you just don’t have enough time to adequately respond to customer demands, but rather than give up and let your customer service suffer, remember that you have options. Rely more on key employees, think outside the proverbial box to find solutions, and remember that customer service is of supreme importance, and you’ll be much more successful at scaling your customer service to fit your growing business.

After years of receiving little unique attention from financial services providers, small businesses have emerged as the ‘sweet spot’ for the financial services industry. The size of the market alone makes it attractive – industry analysts estimate that there are more than 10 million small businesses in the United States, with the number growing at a rate of about 5 percent annually. In addition, small businesses generate more than $200 billion in financial services revenue per year and can be up to 10 times more profitable than the average consumer.

Unfortunately, when banks attempt to meet the unique banking needs of its entire customer base, most small businesses fall through the cracks. These businesses require services and products that differ from the online retail services traditionally offered to consumers. But as economic conditions continue to drive down interest rates and produce smaller spreads, banks are being pressured to find new ways to generate revenue, and the lucrative small business segment is finally getting the attention it deserves. But serving this market, one that is ripe and ready for financial services, will take a dedicated and centralized strategy that looks at all products and delivery channels.

The Financial Services Industry Council (FSIC) recently surveyed executives at several banks regarding their strategies for serving small business customers. While these banks report widely varying strategies for targeting small business customers, all of them see the significant bottom line benefits. In fact, many of the banks that were surveyed said that small businesses will account for as much as 30 percent of their total bank revenues this year.

However, for all the attention on the small business market, most banks are only scratching the surface of the potential this group represents. Small businesses are diverse with varying financial services needs depending on a company’s size, industry and other company dynamics. Winners in this arena will be the banks that develop a deep understanding of their small business customers and work hard to develop the entire relationship, from the business banking to the personal banking needs of the business owner, as well as the small businesses’ employees.

Segmentation opportunities

Until recently, it has not been feasible for banks to implement a true market segmentation strategy with their customer base, let alone address the specific needs of their small business clients. Siloed channels and disparate data sources have hindered banks’ ability to see their full relationships with their customers. And customers’ perception of banks had been eroded by irrelevant, repetitive offerings and inconsistent experiences across various channels and with every interaction with their bank.

The ability to cost-effectively create customized products and pricing strategies for unique segments within their customer base seems impossible, because many banks don’t have a single view of their customers across business and personal banking needs, much less understand their channel preferences. In fact, a study conducted by Forrester Research indicated that 68 percent of the banks don’t know which channels customers use. And even if they do understand their customers’ needs and preferences, the cost of customizing products for distinct market segments – and then rolling them out across all channels – can be staggering

Your success, your job depends upon motivation of your team. When teams are motivated, they don’t simply perform their job, they attack them, eager to make their contributions. And the results are obvious: customers are happy, your team is energized, and the organization continues to grow and develops.

So how can you motivate your team, or a person? You can’t! The only person who can truly motivate a person is the person. You can demand someone to do something, but that is not going to bring out his/her best efforts. Sorry “my way or the highway” isn’t effective in motivating individuals or teams.

Although you can’t control motivation, you can most certainly affect it. You can create conditions where employees want to be motivated. And here is one way you can do that: With few exceptions, all people want to achieve, contribute, and be part of something special. Our drive challenges us to achieve. The task of the leader is to feed and encourage that drive.

Motivation Tips

Teach Business Literacy

The more people understand how a successful organization is run, the better they’ll be able to contribute to your overall mission and the bottom line, and they will feel like they are truly part of your success.

Involve Them In Decision Making

If you have an important decision to make, ask your employees for ideas and suggestions. They are the ones who will feel the impact the most. Besides, you’ll probably end up with a better decision because of the help and support from your people.

Let Your Employees Lead

Help others develop by letting them take the lead on certain projects or task. It’s a great way to build skills, commitment, and responsibility. Plus most of us like “being in charge” some of the time.

Address Performance Problems Early

You owe it to your team to address deficiencies as soon as you become aware of them. Waiting only increases the intensity of everyone else’s bad feelings.

Keep Them Informed

Hold regular business meetings to keep everyone informed on what’s happening within the organization. Make sure people do not feel like they are kept in the dark.

Go Beyond The Tangible

Awards certainly have their place. But lasting motivation comes from people fulfilling challenging assignments, and receiving ongoing, positive feedback. Put your focus there, and you will cause people to care about their job, and themselves.

Think Development

Besides providing training, building skills, awareness, and confidence, make developing the members of your team (and yourself) one of your top priorities.

Always Give The “Why”

There is a much better chance that people will be motivated and give their enthusiastic support if they understand the reason behind the goal, assignment, or decision. Always follow the what with the why.

Respect Their Time

If you expect people to believe that their work is important, you have to believe it, too. Don’t expect people to drop what they are doing every time you need something. Instead, ask if they have a few minutes. Better yet, ask for a time when they’ll be available to meet with you.

There can be a number of reasons why someone would want to work from home and entertain the idea of a home business as opposed to working 9 to 5 at a Monday to Friday job. When you work for someone else, your efforts are making someone else successful, taking you away from your family both physically and emotionally as well as making your life revolve around your work schedule instead of the other way around like it should be. For most of the working class the option of working outside the home is not a desired choice.

The home business aspect of life can benefit you and your family in many more ways than you originally thought. By sparing up commuting time that you would use to go to and from work, you can apply that time to your family, decrease the stress you would ensue from rushing around in traffic and essentially bring more harmony to your home. By being at home and working online, you make yourself available for those who need you. There is no more appealing to your superiors to leave a half hour early for a parent-teacher meeting or for a doctor’s appointment. Making your own scheduled work hours helps aid in the hustle and bustle of an everyday family.

The many tasks associated with running a home business can be daunting, and become more so after even the smallest amount of success. If you are reading this then you are genuinely interested in making a successful go of your home business. As you may have observed, there are many network marketing businesses out there today that range in managing styles and operations. For the beginner, this can be the confusing part of trying to find the easy road to profit in a home business. Research is a key aspect of this step to generating residual income for yourself and your family right from your own home.

To simplify your business and your life find a team that divides tasks based on individual strengths. Another important step to choosing your business is to choose a niche where you will have an abundance of resources in order to aid in your personal success. Having the tools needed to generate income is essential and when you are given these partnered along with a strong support system, success is inevitable. You cannot prosper yourself without having someone there to help you on your way in a home business that you are learning each day. Without the proper training and guidance, it would be like telling someone who has just learning to read and write to create a novel.

You must have access to a system in order to enjoy the duplication and leverage a home business can offer. There are so many opportunities around today that someone like yourself can capitalize on and create a substantial income from home without too much unnecessary effort, but you will have to research the current markets in order to find one that works for you.

A good mentor and access to training goes a long way. Once you have chosen the perfect opportunity for you, the rewards are sure to come your way, with hard work and just a short amount of time, your home business is sure to take off and bring you all the successes that you have ever hoped for. Positive mentoring, access to available tools and networking with others in similar situations can also benefit you immensely when you are building your network marketing home business.

When purchasing a new home either for the purpose of residing or commercial, we have to be very careful in every decision making that we make. Some home buyers end up regretting their home purchases because of committing lots of buying mistakes. Learning form our past mistakes as home buyers and dealers is a good thing to do in order not to waste time, effort and money for the second time around.

I have written articles about home buying and I keep on mentioning this line “It was everyone’s frustration and dream to own a home and start living with a family of their own”. Some of us, do not just invest just to make money but as well as for our future. In every investments that you make, making a wise decision is the answer for a successful home buying.

Giving you an overview of the common mistakes made by home buyers.

These will serve as your guide on what to avoid on your first or next home purchases.

First, taking advantage of an “Adjustable Rate Mortgage” without even knowing the hidden disadvantages. Explaining the negative side of engaging in such activity is that, you will be surprised of the amount you have to pay for the said mortgage. Since, “Adjustable rate mortgage”, interest rate is not fixed, instead interest rate will vary depending on the market change, adjusting more often for about every 6 months or a year. Yes, you can take advantage of lowest interest rate if the market if the market is good but if not, then expect a higher rate of interest.

Second thing is that we listen unto what others are saying about how much we can afford of buying a property. Keeping in mind, that those we make a deal with like the real estate owners, agents were after a commission. What’s the best thing to do is make our own wise decision before purchasing a homes, these can be backed up with own searching about homes, its pricing and other related details.

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